Different types of construction conditions often require different types of equipment to be able to accurately and properly prepare foundations for future construction. Typically this type of construction may be achieved by pile driving, screw piling, drilling or by auger for example. In general foundations are often pilings that are used to support the structure being built. The type of piling required and the depth that the piling must be driven into the earth will also depend on the type of structure being built. With large structures, the pilings by necessity are large to provide sufficient support and have to be driven through the earth and underlying bedrock with a great deal of force. Traditionally in the construction industry, the pile driving of these large pilings has been performed by mounting a pile driver to a crane. This requires the costly and time consuming transportation of a crane to the construction site as well as the engagement of a qualified crane operator. Typical pile drivers include a hammer mounted to a frame or leads and have a ram that engages the pile with a downward force. For accurate driving of the pilings and avoidance of damage to the frame, there has to be a proper alignment of the leads relative the piling being driven. In other construction operations leads are often mounted to a crane so as to operate a drilling system, auger system or screw pile.
Prior art lead attachment mechanisms for pile drivers and the like have been devised to address some of the noted problems. For example United States Pub. Patent Appln No. 2005/0247461 was filed on May 6, 2004 by Cardoso and relates to a construction equipment attachment for driving an object, such as a timber piles, steel piles, pipe piles, steel sheet piles, h-beam and the like. The attachment includes a hammer slidably coupled to a lead, a lead mounting assembly and a hydraulic actuator coupled to the lead and the lead mounting assembly. The hydraulic actuator is adapted to control the orientation of the lead relative to the lead mounting assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,715,564 which issued on Apr. 6, 2004 to Buckland relates to a drilling rig having a boom supporting a leader. The leader is pivotally attached to the boom and is moveable between a generally upright orientation and a generally horizontal orientation for the purposes of transportation by a vehicle. Hydraulic rams cause linear movement of the leader relative to the boom while the hydraulic ram causes tilting of the boom about a generally horizontally axis.
U.S. Pub. Patent No. 2006/0213676 which was filed on Mar. 7, 2006 for Jinnings et al, relates to a pile driver including an apparatus for allowing relative movement between a hammer and a boom of an excavator. The apparatus includes a mounting plate mounted to the boom that inter-fits with and is slidable with respect to a frame rail mounted to the hammer. In operation, the hammer is placed on top of a pile and, as the pile is driven downwardly, the hammer follows the pile down.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,664 which issued on Dec. 27, 1994 to McDowell et al relates to a hydraulic pile driver including a backhoe, a lead, a vibratory hydraulic hammer, and a winch, for driving pin pile or needle pile into the ground. The lead is limited in height, as is the backhoe in size, so that the pile driver can be used within the interiors of many building structures. The vibratory hydraulic hammer operates at a rate greater than 400 blows per minute and generates a force greater than 100 foot-pounds.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,551,519 which issued on Sep. 3, 1996 to Pach relates to a device for driving piles, preferably poles, into a foundation. The device for ramming pole foundations limits idle times between ramming operations and takes the form of a self-propelled rail-road or dual purpose vehicle that can be driven on rails laid on a ballast or over a road surface and the vehicle can swivel over 360° with a top in relation to the undercarriage, with an operation cabin, a counter weight and a hoisting arm being arranged on the noted top, with a turning and tilting unit being provided at a free end of the hoisting arm, with a leader having a rammer mounted in a guiding unit, wherein, in the working position, the leader stands vertically and the top is turned 90° with respect to the direction of the rails and, when the ramming operation is finished, the leader is centrally clamped by the guiding unit and is turned 90° by the turning and tilting unit, with the leader and rammer then being shouldered by the hoisting arm and the device can thus be driven to the next ramming position.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,944,452 which issued on Aug. 31, 1999 to Reinert, Sr. relates to a heavy duty mobile metal foundation installation apparatus and method which includes a push-it carriage movably supported through controllable positioning to push a metal foundation into the ground by hydraulic cylinders pushing against a header frame held and secured in adjustable positions on a heavy duty mobile push-it tower. The heavy duty mobile push-it tower and metal foundation holder and push-it carriage mounted on the heavy duty tower are attached to a track roller frame tractor structure. The push-it tower is attached to the track roller frame tractor structure by a hydraulically activated tractor boom arm, a pivot point on the tower, and a hydraulic cylinder for rotating and positioning the tower about the pivot attachment point.
Thus a system for mounting a lead attachment assembly which allows for the timely and cost effective mounting of a lead attachment assembly for the operation of a pile driver or the like to an excavator with the ability to adjust the alignment and the positioning of the lead assembly and therefore the pile driver for example is desirable.